BEVS

As per the thread title.

Women born early 50's - UK state pension changes - how will it effect ?

Can some kind female of similar age inform me about this in simple terms please.

I have been under the impression that as I worked full time (40 hours and over pw) for 35 years or so , that I would be good for a UK state pension at age 65, should we choose to return. I don't mean this in any way as a sense of entitlement and right but rather that I had done enough under the rules.

I'm starting to read that this may not be the case & that worries me a bit if we are to make a return. I am older than Mr BEVS BTW & have no NZ work years to count into the mix .

I just want to know if goalposts have been moved please? Also is there somewhere where I , being currently overseas, can ask for a 'forecast' or something like that

thanks all.

Cindyf67

I'm sure I read on one of these posts that 35 years is enough to contribute into the UK system to be entitled to pension etc, but don't quote me. I am sure someone knows.

On the www.gov.uk website it states "you need 35 qualifying years to get the full state pension if you don't have a National Insurance record before 6 Aprl 2016 - https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension...-state-pension.

What makes you want to return to the UK, if you don't mind me asking.

Editha

Get a pension statement:https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement

If you were born before 6th April '53 you have reached retirement age already. Our age group (I was born '52) do not get the 'new flat rate pension' but the old style pension,for which you only need 30 years contributions.

Although the old style pension is less than the new one, the good news is that every year you defer your pension it is enhanced by 10.4%.

If you were born after 6th Apr '53 you will get the new pension, but you are going to need the pension statement to find out how much you'll get. It's complicated.

Snowy560

Hi I've asked for a couple of pension forecasts over the last 3 years and MrSnowy has had one too. We're at the end of the 1950s.

You do have to ring to get one as I recall (I was reminded by clicking on the link Editha posted), but it was all very straightforward. I don't recall needing to provide any special info other than probably the usual such as address/NI number.

They take a few weeks to arrive.


S

PS: just been looking and think you may be able to request one online.

nun

What Class of NI have you paid and how many years of NICs do you have? when were you born exactly? What is you NZ work history if any?

BEVS

A

In excess of 30 . Not sure if 35.

Check your karma messages

Zilch. Not by intention .

Mr BEVS on the other hand has a full 11 years and is 5 years younger than me.

nun

Do you mean Class 1A?

If you have more than 35 years of NICs, were born on or after 6th April 1953 and will retire on or after 6th April 2016 then you will get the new flat rate UK state pension. You should get a pension forecast to determine exactly how may NICs you have and learn about top up options.

Snowy560

Hi thanks for the info. Apparently, according to my pension statement, I have 34 years. If I left 3-4 years ago, do I have to option of topping up?

Thanks


S

Editha

Sorry to complicate things, but not necessarily. If Bevs was in 'contracted out' employment (which includes, teaching, NHS, civil service, etc.) for all or any part of her 35 years, then her flat rate pension will be reduced.

The reductions can be very substantial and may reduce the flat-rate pension to below the level of the old-style pension, in which case it is the old-style pension which will be paid in full.

This is the situation my husband is in. He only has 30 years contributions, but even if he bought an extra 5 years, his flat-rate pension would be below the level of the old-style.

This is why it is essential to get an up-to-date pension statement. It is the only way of finding out how much you will get, and whether it is worth making more contributions.

BEVS

Oops . Fool that I am . I mean Class 1


MrBEVS would be a mix of Class 1 and class 4 I believe and there is likely ten years of contracted out then as he worked for the NHS for a decade

I'm thinking I may have been contracted out for a while. Not so much through the public sector but there was a period where employers seriously pushed for employees to take out private pension plans & I think that resulted in a contracting out.

I've found and completed the forms for the both of us and will send them off.

Snowy560

Yes employers did push for contracting out. This happened to me too.

S

nun

That's why I asked if there were Class 1A NICs...those are non-contracted out contributions. If there were some Class 1D contributions (indicating contracting out of the second state pension) then the pension would be less than the new flat rate. You cannot make catch up contributions for contracted out years, but you can make catch up contributions for years you didn't pay NICs if you were out of the country.

nun

The letter code is vital here Class 1A is very different from Class 1D. Just get a pension forecast. It's easy to request and comes in a few weeks.

cappuccino

I filled in the online form from Dept of Works and Pensions and waited and waited... Them received an email to say they couldn't provide the statement of years already paid but advised me to write a letter (to the Tyneview Park address previously mentioned in this thread). Wrote the letter and waited and waited.... Phoned them and they took all my details again over the phone and 2 weeks later posted me out the summary showing: estimate of weekly pension based on existing amount of contributions; Pension age; number of qualifying years and the percentage of pension that would give me. They also sent a booklet applicable for my age group.

When I had called the Pensions dept, they advised me that when I receive the statement, I should then call HMRC to request the actual amounts I would need to pay to cover the missing years. I received this breakdown about 2 weeks later.

There is so much information in the letter and booklet that I got a headache from reading it all and still don't really understand the changes. However, I do know that I can't get a pension till I'm 67 and have until April 2019 to pay my missing years of NI contribution.

Snowy560

I called them.

The pension statement arrived in a few weeks.

I didn't read the booklet that came with it. I probably should have.

S